


Shelter from Snow

by Niko_Niko_Neek



Category: Corpse Party (Video Game), Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game)
Genre: F/M, Flirting, Mutual Pining, Truth Serum
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-16
Updated: 2019-12-16
Packaged: 2021-03-08 12:22:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21815620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Niko_Niko_Neek/pseuds/Niko_Niko_Neek
Summary: Ayumi Shinozaki, youngest priestess of Sarenrae, has never been sent on an assignment before. Luckily, she isn't going alone, with a group of friends and a distinctly stubborn personal guard in tow. Not that she's particularly enthused about that last part. It doesn't help that he's attractive, either.
Relationships: Kishinuma Yoshiki/Shinozaki Ayumi
Comments: 3
Kudos: 22





	Shelter from Snow

**Author's Note:**

> A goofy one shot based of a slew of DnD au head cannons discussed on twitter. Probably won't be continuing with this, but who knows.

Ayumi doesn’t typically mind the company of her friends, but tonight, they all seem rather loud. Even standing out in the fresh snow near the stables she can hear the music and laughter wafting outside from the tavern, which makes her steed swivel her ears upward at the commotion.

“You’re alright, Neyven.” Ayumi murmurs, reaching out to stroke the animal’s mane. The poor thing had been walking a long ways-it had probably been a good ten or fourteen hours until they’d found a place to stop, and though her horse was exhausted, Ayumi felt oddly energized. She supposed it had to do with her upset sleep schedule. “Just take your treat-there’s a girl.”

The snow is cold even though her boots, and though it currently isn’t falling, she still shivers and wraps her cloak tighter around herself. Hopefully more wouldn’t fall by the time they had to leave tomorrow. Snow always made travel more difficult, and not to mention that they would be far easier to track in the meantime.

A high-pitched, ringing laugh filters in from the upstairs window, making Ayumi smile faintly. Mayu must be upstairs with the other girls, no doubt gossiping about something. Honestly, Ayumi is surprised they aren’t asleep by now-Morishige had barely enough energy to stomp his way upstairs to his bed.

A brief rummage through the saddlebags earns Ayumin a pleasant surprise-a flask. It’s in a worn leather casing, maybe stripped from a cow. This must be a bit of the dwarf liquor Yoshiki had purchased and stored in the bags. “....He won’t miss a sip, will he?” She muses before shrugging, unscrewing the cap, and taking a swallow.

“Could’ve asked.”

She chokes on the liquid-which is about fifty times more bitter-and nearly spits a spray of it out. A tiny, amused smirk alights on her newfound companion’s face, which makes her cheeks heat in embarrassment.

“Sorry, Shinozaki, didn’t mean to sneak up on you.”

He looks far too amused, though, particularly given that he’d seemingly just shown up out of nowhere. Yoshiki did tend to do that-it didn’t help that the dark clothing and dark hair color helped him to blend into the shadows. He and Morishige were both eerily adept and freaking the hell out of her when she got up to have a drink or snack late at night.

“I don’t think I’ll need a babysitter out here, Kishinuma.” Ayumi replies, and tries her best to appear annoyed rather than grateful for his presence. He was hired on to protect her, after all-apparently Priestesses needed that. Stupid, in her opinion.

“Who said I was out here for you?” Yoshiki arches a brow, leaning his shoulder against the wood of the stables.

“I-Well, no one. It’s you who’s always following me around,” Ayumin replies, holding his gaze in a defiant glare. She reminds herself that she’s resentful of his position, and ignores the fact that his eyes almost appear silver in the moonlight overhead.

“I was hired to.”

She lets loose a small scoff, replacing the bottle back in the bag.

“Like it or not,” Yoshiki shrugs, “We’re stuck until your whole sanctifying job’s done. I’m not trying to bug you or anything.”

“I only resent the gesture.” Ayumi replies, and her scowl turns a bit more distant and a bit less personal. “I resent that the convent doesn’t think I’m able to hold my own in the world.”

“....I’m sure they didn’t mean it like that.”

“Sure they didn’t.” With a shake of her head, Ayumi turns to leave.

“Hey, Shinozaki?”

She comes to a standstill, arms still wrapped around herself. Part of her is slightly regretful, because she knows she’s acting a bit childish and it isn’t really his fault that the High Priestesses have decided to treat her like she’s still a child. Still, she’s not about to let him know that.

“....I think someone oughta tell you.” At this, she does turn back to look at him, but the expression on his face is odd-it’s almost sheepish.”

“That, uh, bottle you were drinking from? It wasn’t liquor. It was the truth serum I bought back in Harvington.”

Ayumi’s jaw nearly drops, and it’s only sheer force of will that prevents it. “....You have _got_ to be joking.”

“Always good to smell before you sip. They never taught you that up at the nunnery?”

“I’m not a nun,” Ayumi sputters. “And it’s not a nunnery! It’s a coven! Serenrea’s coven, to be exact!”

“Nun or not, you should still get inside before you freeze to death. Want me to buy you a real drink?”

The first instinct is ‘yes’, but Ayumi is clever to the last, and diverts the affirmation into another question. “Are you going to keep bothering me if I don’t?”

Yoshiki’s brows raise, and a small chuckle leaves him. “Nice save.”

“Everything has a loophole.” Ayumi replies before beginning her walk through the snow again. “So? Are you getting me a real drink or not?”

In nearly no time. Yoshiki is walking beside her, lifting a hand in order to open the door of the tavern once they approach. He’s not close enough to be infringing on any boundaries, but she can smell a faint spice to him that she tries her best to ignore.

“After you, Shinozaki.”

She rolls her eyes to offset the flutter in her stomach, which she chalks up to nervousness due to the potion anyway.

The tavern is still fairly populated, but not to the raucous extent it was earlier. Several members of their party have gone to bed, including Satoshi’s little sister, Morishige, Mayu and Naomi. Seiko is chatting animatedly with the young half-elf bartender and Satoshi is studying their map.

Yoshiki makes good on his promise and soon a mug of spiced mead is sitting in front of her. It’s not anything luxurious like the dwarf liquor would have been, but it’s warm and does a good job staving off the last of the chill from outside. After a little while spent taking sips, she realizes Yoshiki is watching her.

“What?”

He grins, leaning the side of his head on his knuckles. “Are you just not gonna say anything until it wears off?”

“Maybe so.” She holds the mug in both hands, taking a long draw. The wine heats the inside of her chest. At least, she thinks it's the wine. It's probably the wine.

“...Here. I’ll make it fair-I promise I’ll only tell the truth, too, until it wears off.”

At that, Ayumi laughs in sheer disbelief. “Oh, sure you will. And how am I going to know that?”

“I guess you’ll just have to trust me.”

She wishes she had the presence of mind to reply with something sarcastic, but in reality, the way he says it is genuine enough to make her recant. What she doesn’t like, though, is that Yoshiki holds her gaze for so long that she has to blink and look away first.

“So what was your idea about getting me a drink for, anyway?”

“I like talking to you.”

….To say she’s a bit knocked for a loop was an understatement. Honestly, she wasn’t sure what sort of an answer she was expecting from him, but she wasn’t expecting that one. Ayumi takes a particularly long drink, partially to give herself an excuse not to answer.

“Would you rather I leave you alone?”

“No.” Her voice echoes a little in the mug, and she feels a flash of resentment at whichever enchanter decided truth serums needed to be a thing.

Yoshiki’s voice is teasing, though, when he speaks again. “Don’t tell me you’ve fallen in love with me or something.”

“Hardly. I just find you attractive.”

_Fuck._

She hates the rather delighted look on his face that results. “Is that so?”

“I will fire you right now, Yoshiki, so help me.” A quiet thunk sounds as she sets her mug down.

“You mean that?”

“No.” Son of an orc.

“You know, you aren’t too hard on the eyes, yourself.”

She drinks the mead the wrong way and a series of coughs is the only result at first. She feels Yoshiki patting her back.

“You dead?”

“People could have you flogged,” Ayumi manages once her throat clears. “For saying that about a priestess.”

“I thought you wanted me to be honest with you.”

His hand hasn’t left her back and, as Ayumi gives a quick look around, she realizes with an odd sort of alarm, that Seiko is no longer in the room-apparently she and the female bartender have left to find alternative accommodations. Satoshi, likewise, must have gone up to sleep. When she looks back to Yoshiki, he’s sitting startlingly close to her.

“....Hey.” He says, his voice quiet. “Have you ever kissed a boy before?”

Mute, she shakes her head.

“Do you want to kiss me?”

He must be able to read the answer in her face, because a second later, his mouth is pressing against hers. Yoshiki’s mouth is softer than she’d expected, and it eradicates the last bit of winter left over from outside.

It must have only lasted a second or two, but when she feels him move back, her hand grips the front of his cloak.

“Again,” she demands, to which Yoshiki returns, kissing her as though he’s attempting to drink her in. His hair, like his lips, is surprisingly soft against her fingers, and her thumbs move deftly to graze over the curve of his jaw. He hums against her mouth.

“You let me drink that on purpose,” Ayumi grumbles, her face hidden in the warmth of his neck, where that spiced scent from before is even more prevalent. She can feel his hand on her back and, despite the armor she still wears, the warmth seems to cut straight through it.

“C’mon, I wouldn’t do that to you.” Yoshiki presses a brief kiss to her cheek. “You want to know something?”

She huffs. “What do you think I want to know?”

“I wasn’t hired to protect you. I’m not getting paid anything.” This makes Ayumi lift her head to watch his expression, which seems more open than she’s ever really noted. “I asked to be sent with you when you left the shrine because I wanted to look after you myself.”

“...Why?”

“Because you patched me up, way back then. That one time. And told me to keep training to be a soldier, even though I was all roughed up. Remember that?”

For a moment she feels nothing but bewilderment, but as soon as the memory resurfaces, she understands. They’d both been rather young-Yoshiki, at least, had not been even given his own sword yet, and was only one of many recruits at the fortress nearby, and she was only just learning the basics of prayer and magic. He’d been crying, though had insisted he hadn’t been, and covered in cuts from a hard training session. Luckily, she’d just been learning a few healing spells that day.

“....I remember that.” Her voice sounds strangely vulnerable when she speaks again. “....You aren’t lying?”

“Don’t you trust me?”

At this point, she doesn’t need truth serum to give him the answer to that.


End file.
